Ted Williams was one of the greatest hitters of all time. We know this because since the early days of baseball we’ve been tracking stats on every player for every game and Ted Williams rises to the top of the list in almost every category.

Whether through pen and paper, spreadsheet or enterprise software we have a history of using technology to measure greatness.

It’s the same for AE. Each hour on every project is an opportunity to capture and measure the great work your firm produces. Your ERP solution will either enhance or weaken that ability. But, how do you know when your ERP is falling short? Better yet, are there ways to anticipate the need for a new solution?

For ERP software, there are a few sure-fire indicators that it’s time to start looking for something new.

End-of-life -Discontinued product development or support

Outgrowth – When your firm outgrows the current feature set

Stagnant Development – No new features/improvements

1. End of Life

End-of-life is actually a normal stage in a product’s lifecycle- but that process can have serious ramifications. Often an end-of-life means a shift of resources away from supporting your software resulting in closed development and end of product support. Neither are good scenarios.

Typically, End-of-life is preceded by a vendor buyout, final version, end of sales or the release of a new (read, “replacement”) product.

2. Outgrowth

On a more positive note, sometimes your firm simply outgrows the feature set of your current software. There are lots of great solutions written for small businesses to begin managing their accounting, projects or CRM. However, larger contracts call for more employees, tighter communication and fully-baked integrations.

Balancing multiple vendors to capture your firm’s project/financial position can become cumbersome in periods of growth. If you’re growing too quickly for your software (congratulations!) it’s time to start looking.

3. Stagnant Development

Running a mature ERP solution has it’s benefits. However, terms like “product maturity” can easily mask a true lack of development or product improvement. This can leave you at a disadvantage. Signs of a slow down in development include fewer and far-between improvements to the product, long standing bugs or inattentiveness to customer feedback.

Since the early days of baseball, we’ve used technology to measure greatness and ERP software helps you capture this for your firm.

Great ERP does that in a way that innovates, continually improves and grows with you.